The big fat lie: Britons eat 50% more than they say

Scientists were baffled when 34 per cent of the 4,500 respondents claimed to be eating less than necessary to stay aliveALAMY

Britons are eating 50 per cent more food than they admit, according to the first official use of a biological test to measure calorie intake.

The scale of people’s lying and inaccuracy about what they eat undermines dietary recommendations based on shaky research, experts said. The findings show that the average person in Britain is exceeding official health recommendations by the equivalent of a Big Mac a day.

Men are consuming 3,119 calories a day, not the 2,065 they own up to; women are consuming 2,393 instead of the 1,570 they confess to, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates.

Overweight people, men and the young are most likely to under-report their calorie intake, according to experimental research which, if confirmed, could be used to…